Do you want to make more sales with your emails without coming across as pushy or salesy?

It’s a big challenge most email marketers face so in this episode, we’re diving into how to strike the perfect balance of enthusiasm, authenticity, and simplicity so that you can send more emails and make more sales.

Let’s do this!

Want to get more sales from your email marketing?

Before we get started with today’s episode, we’ve put a little something together for you.

It's really cool and it's FREE (yes, it's cool and free – we're nice like that). We all know that subject lines are important to get right and are a leading measure of your open and click rates – but writing them can be a challenge.

That's why Kennedy has spent months training an AI to write powerful subject lines that is beating top copywriters' subject lines 80% of the time in A/B tests – and you can get access to it here.

Why “Pushy” Isn’t the Problem

Pushiness is a perception issue.

What feels pushy to some might just be enthusiastic and genuine to others. The most important thing is that you truly believe in the value of what you’re offering and let that excitement be read by your subscribers. If your product or service genuinely solves a problem for your subscribers, your job is to share that message with conviction. 

But here’s the catch: the way you communicate must feel authentic to you.

Using phrases you dislike or writing with a tone that doesn’t resonate with you can backfire, making you feel inauthentic and uncomfortable – and your subscribers will see right through it too.

The Problem with Over-Promising

One of the biggest ways to make your emails feel pushy and forceful is by overpromising.

Instead of making massive claims, focus on:

• The pain points your audience is experiencing.
• Why solving these problems is urgent.
• How your solution is the answer.

When you focus on emphasising the urgency and relevance of your solution, you shift the focus from pushing a product to addressing their needs and offering a clear next step.

The Magic of Small Steps

Here’s the secret sauce: your email doesn’t have to do all the selling. 

In fact, it shouldn’t. Instead, break the sales journey into smaller steps, leaving each piece to do its best at ONE job.

For example:

• The subject line should intrigue readers enough to open the email.
• The first line should make them read the second line.
• The email’s primary goal? Lead them to click a link, watch a video, or book a call.

When every part of your funnel has just one job, there’s no need for aggressive selling.

Simplicity is Key

Complexity creates resistance. 

If you present your audience with an overwhelming process, they’re more likely to tune out. Which means that you’re actively preventing sales. Instead, show how simple it is to take the next step with your solution. 

When people feel like the solution is easy and achievable, they’re naturally more inclined to act (and buy!).

Subject line of the week

This week’s subject line: “39% Open Rate”

What makes it work? It’s ambiguous.

It doesn’t tell you if 39% is good or bad, sparking curiosity. For example, if you’re in the weight loss niche, you could try something like “5 Kilos Lost.” 

Without framing it as positive or negative, the reader applies their interpretation – and that’s the hook! 

Play with curiosity-driven subject lines and see how they impact your open rates.

Useful Episode Resources

Related episodes

How Do You Get Your Customers To Buy And Buy Again? 

How To Get Back On The Email Wagon When You Fall Off (Back To School Edition)

How Can I Personalise My Emails To Increase Conversions?

FREE list of the top 10 books to improve your email marketing

If you want to write better emails, come up with better content, and move your readers to click and buy, here's how. We put together this list of our Top 10 most highly recommended books that will improve all areas of your email marketing (including some underground treasures that we happened upon, which have been game-changing for us). Grab your FREE list here. 

Join our FREE Facebook group

If you want to chat about how you can maximise the value of your email list and make more money from every subscriber, we can help! We know your business is different, so come and hang out in our FREE Facebook group, the Email Marketing Show Community for Course Creators and Coaches. We share a lot of training and resources, and you can talk about what you're up to.

Try ResponseSuite for $1

This week's episode is sponsored by ResponseSuite.com, the survey quiz and application form tool that we created specifically for small businesses like you to integrate with your marketing systems to segment your subscribers and make more sales. Try it out for 14 days for just $1.

Grab The Email Hero Blueprint

Want more? Let's say you're a course creator, membership site owner, coach, author, or expert and want to learn about the ethical psychology-based email marketing that turns 60-80% more of your newsletter subscribers into customers (within 60 days).

If that's you, then The Email Hero Blueprint is for you.

This is hands down the most predictable, plug-and-play way to double your earnings per email subscriber. It allows you to generate a consistent sales flow without launching another product, service, or offer. Best news yet? You won't have to rely on copywriting, slimy persuasion, NLP, or ‘better' subject lines.

Subscribe and review The Email Marketing Show podcast

Thanks so much for tuning into the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode (all about how to kick off an email reactivation campaign and get back on the email marketing wagon) and love the show, we'd really appreciate you subscribing and leaving us a review of the show on your favourite podcast player.

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And please do tell us! If you don't spend time on email marketing, what do you really fill your working days with? We'd love to know!